This invention relates to apparatus for improving the environment. More specifically, this invention is directed to the collection of waste materials from animals and the elimination thereof prior to the waste materials being deposited on the ground or otherwise polluting the environment.
In recent years great emphasis has been placed on the improvement of the environment. Federal and State laws have been enacted which are directed to the elimination of air pollution, the elimination of water pollution, minimization of exposure to toxic substances, elimination of noise pollution and a myriad of other polluting agents. These laws emphasize the recent attention given to our environment and the many ways in which it has been fouled.
To a great extent, however, the manner in which a boiler stack fouls the environment or the manner in which a stream may be polluted escapes the day-to-day experience of the average person. It will quickly be recognized, however, that there is one form of pollution which we have all experienced, i.e. the deposit of waste matter of animals, particularly dogs, in a location where someone invariably will step. Who among us has not bee victimized in this manner? Who among us has not contributed to the proliferation of pollution by tracking waste materials on our shoes to the nearest appropriate scraping point for removal? Who among us has not been frustrated by the failure of diligent attempts to remove lingering odors? It is unlikely that anyone has escaped this distasteful experience.
The problem, of course, has been recognized over the years. Various ingenious inventors have directed their attentions to its solution. In this regard, for the most part, the solutions have embodied concepts of training the animal to deposit only in a particular location, providing equipment which is suitable for lifting animal deposits shortly after placement and, less desirably, the acknowledgement that the problem is a municipal one and thus the posting of appropriate signs such as "curb your dog."
Certainly none of these solutions is acceptable. The maintenance of litter bins and the like is a difficult task and, notwithstanding the best efforts of the maintainer, result in an unpleasant situation. Equipment for removing a once deposited discharge is ordinarily not 100% efficient. As a result, some unsuspecting soul can be strolling in a perfectly public place and experience, albeit only with a relatively small amount of discharge, the unpleasant occurrence of waste deposit on one's shoes, or less desirably on one's bare feet. Needless to say, the curbing of one's dog only concentrates the danger zone while tolerating the maintenance of discharge materials in the street at virtually all times with their attendant foul odors and possibility of being in the way of an errant foot.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus which eliminates the problems attendant to the above-described structures and procedures. More specifically, the present invention directs itself to an apparatus, conveniently used, for collecting animal solid waste materials before they hit the ground.